RING OF CIRCLE

The Excerpt

Mpape Hills

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Day ___

"You know we will be deep in shit if we get caught."

"Yeah, 'if' we get caught." James said, emphasizing the 'if' to mark his point.

Max, James, and Cecilia had snuck in and towards the peak of Mpape hill. The idea was to watch the meteor shower on high grounds. According to James; "meteor shower is best enjoyed on high grounds and with soda in hand."

"I agree with you, James," Cecilia said as they climbed on, "'if' we get caught." She stressed, giving Max a sly smile. All he can do is let out a sigh; even though he knows there is no dissuading them.

Max has always been the good-bad boy ever since he could remember, and his parents' divorce seven years ago encouraged him to bring out that part of himself, and meeting James and Cecilia only helped his trouble-making career. The trio became fast friends and their thirst for thrill and trouble brought them ever close: James the discharged soldier, Cecilia the millionaire with nothing to lose, and Max, well he is just Max.

The trio got to the peak and found themselves staring at the better part of Mpape, the tiny crescent moon had varnished earlier in the night and all that remains are millions of stars sparkling in the late night.

"You really outdid yourself this time, James," Cecilia said with a pleased expression on her.

'Wow' was all Max could say. "How did you find this spot?"

"That's what I keep telling you guys," James said, puffing with pride. "I am a genius." Cecilia's expression changed from pleased to annoyed with James' comment, and for the millionth time, she wondered why she hadn't killed him yet.

"Alright folks," James announced giving Cecilia an annoying smile, one of his specialities, "the meteor shower is supposed to begin at midnight," He checked his glowing wristwatch, it is already past midnight. "Anytime now."

Five minutes passed, and the show is yet to begin, thirty minutes, one hour and then the clock ticked one-thirty in the morning; the three friends waited for the meteor shower to begin, but it didn't, and the wait only made James more talkative and Maxwell more anxious. Max isn't exactly sure why he is feeling so anxious as he isn't the type to be anxious, in fact, he is the confident one next to James. No one can match James' recklessness.

"Can you stop yammering about this and that and give us some peace for just one second?" Cecilia cautioned James, just like she always does whenever he goes into talkative mode. "At least if we can't enjoy a meteor shower, we should at least enjoy the peace of the twinkling stars, don't you think? "James started to say something when the sky suddenly lit up. As one, the trio looked to the once dark star-filled sky; to see it has transformed into a beautiful bright sky full of activity as billions of meteors raced by, one lasting a macro second longer than the last.

"Wow!" That was all any of them could say as they watched the meteors appear by the dozen, only to disappear a second or two later after moving a considerable distance at the speed of light. "They are beautiful," Cecilia said as she took selfies of herself with the blazing sky as her background.

FIZZZZ…!

The sound captured Max's and Cecilia's attention as they turn to James, who just opened a can of soda.

"What?" James feigned innocence, even though he understands the meaning of his friend's gaze. "I did tell you guys to bring some soda."

"Where did that even come from?" Max inquired, wondering how he kept a can of soda throughout the wait and neither he nor Cecilia had a clue.

"And why do you have only one?" Cecilia added, even though she knew it was just a harmless prank on James' part, it still annoys her.

"I told you before, get some soda, and besides, a meteor shower is best enjoyed on high grounds and with soda in hand." He quoted himself and raised his can in a mock toast. "Come on," He turned his attention to the racing stars overhead. "Let's make wishes."

"I wish you can stop being annoying and lovable at the same time." Cecilia blurted, barely allowing James to finish his sentence.

"And I wish you stop yammering like my mom." James threw back, barely thinking at all.

"Erm! Guys?!" Max fixated on the showering meteors, called.

"I wish you stomp your toe and break your teeth, so you won't talk so much."

"Ohh! I wish you buy a bad shampoo, wash your hair, sleep and wake up a bald angry lady." James said with a laugh, and Max could have laughed as well if his attention isn't entirely elsewhere.

"Guys?!" He said, a little louder this time.

Cecilia not minding Max; "I wish you get a flat tire in the middle of nowhere." Said with a sly smile, expecting James to get short on words.

"Guys!!" Max stressed this time, anxiety heavy in his tone.

"And I wish you a bad nightmare of you fixing my tires." He did an imaginary mic dropping as his comeback hit Cecilia's nerves really hard — the two hate fixing things, especially on cars, more than anything.

Cecilia was about to come about a smart thing to say; "GUYS!" Max yelled, snatching whatever it is she wanted to say.

"What!" James and Cecilia snapped at him at the same time, as though it was practiced. "What is your deal, young man, are you afraid of the dark?" James said knowing fully well that if Maxwell George is afraid of anything, it is not darkness, in short, he can see as clearly as day in the dark.

"Look." Max pointed to the sky, a hint of fear in his voice.

"Wow, it is so beautiful, I didn't notice until you showed me." Cecilia said sarcastically, feigning an amazed expression as she followed Max's finger to the sky.

"Yes, Max, we can see it is raining stars." James said, not even looking.

"No guys, really look," he paused, "it seems...it seems like..."

"One of them is falling!" Cecilia finished for Max, who started stuttering out of the blue.

'Wait, did I just stutter?'

"Oh please," James complained, "we are not in a movie, how possible is it for a meteor to fall, and in Nigeria?" He made a face. "I doubt it."

"Maybe you won't if you look." Cecilia said, giving James one of her scolding-mother looks, James obliged, eager to prove his friend's crazy for the first time — he is usually the crazy one. He looked to the sky, following Max's finger that seems to have frozen in place. Lo and behold, they were right, out of the billions of racing stars one stood out, it is easy to spot because it is at least fifty times as big as the others, and it is getting bigger, or rather, it is falling closer.

"Oh my God!" He exclaimed, his hands on his head. "The meteor is falling, it is falling like in 'smallvile'." Like on cue, the falling meteor picked up speed or maybe just teleported, and it seems like it will land in a minute.

This sudden change must have snapped Max out of his frozen trance; "RUN!" He yelled, only to turn around and see his friends fifty yards down the hill. "Hey! Guys! Wait!" He took off in a dangerous sprint down the hill, not minding his speed, he dodged and jumped over stray obstacles just like his friends. "We are not losing it!" Max cried a few meters away from Cecilia who ran like a cheetah on ordinary days, and he is just about caught up with James. "It's going to fall on us, it is going to crush us!" James shouted, already falling behind max even though he took off before him.

"Speed up, James," Cecilia at the forefront yelled at the slowest of the trio while leaping over a small boulder in her way. "Speed up." The three had been running for about a minute already and the meteor doesn't seem to be further from them, if anything, it is coming for them.

"Oh shit," Max stole a glance back, risking a dangerous fall given his momentum, if he should trip, he knows he is going to get bruises. "We are so going to die this time." He thought out loud as he turned to concentrate on his fleeing, only that he was too late. He stomps on a stone so hard that he lost every single bit of his balance, and he goes tumbling head over heels courtesy of his momentum. James who is closely behind Max could have gotten entangled with Max and fall if his football reflexes hadn't kicked in. He instinctively jumped over Max, who is yet to settle from his fall, thanks again to his momentum. As soon as James landed, he braked hard. Skidding to a stop some ten meters away from Max, who is sprawled out like a dirty blanket.

"Max!" James called, "are you okay?" He barely finished his concerned question when he saw how close to landing the meteor is; "Max RUN!"

Max jumped to his feet in response to James' first-ever anxious cry. But he was too late. He felt it before he saw it, a blazing blast of heat flooding down from up above with a great tide of kinetic energy. And before he could make any desperate attempt to save himself; ...BOOM…! The last thing he knew before his world went blank is white pain, bright light, insane vibration, and then nothing, plain blank nothing.

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01:45

"Hey, hey, wake up!" The voice seem quieter than possible, she could barely make out the words, although the concern and worry in the tone didn't evade her. She open her eyes slowly and the first thing she saw was nothing but a bright white light with a spectrum of rainbow colors. But the first thing that registered isn't the blinding light that throws every other thing into the darkness, it is the throbbing pain in her head followed by the sharp ringing in her ears as though a hammer is consistently hitting an anvil, then the splitting pain that follows every movement she attempts.

"Oh, thank God you are alive, I thought I would have to drag your corpse all that way home." The voice she had before said, turns out it is a male's, he hugged her tightly as though they were old friends. He switched the light off, and she could see his face better; 'he is awfully familiar' she thought. Then, questions started flooding in: 'where am I?' 'Who is this guy?' 'Why am I covered in dirt and leaves?'

"Are you okay?" He asked as he helped her up unto her feet. "Are you hurt anywhere?" He said, turning her every which way. Then it started coming back to her; James, that is his name, he is her best friend. The memories of the last... 'How long have I even been out?' She thought as she remembered sneaking past the Mpape hills guards, the meteor shower, their fleeing from the...the…'oh no!'

"Max, where is Max?" She asked James, who looks nothing short of the hill himself as her memories hit her like a hammer hits anvil. She remembered seeing him fall and James stopping to help him, and the meteor had landed shortly after, dangerously close to Max. "Answer me, James, where is Max?"

James brushed the dirt off his Adidas sweater, feigning calm; "you are just about to help me find him." He said matter-of-factly as he switched on his phone's flashlight, beckoning Cecilia to do the same. The pair go round the landing site, shouting at the top of their lungs;

"MAX! MAXWELL! MAX!!"

But all they got in response is burning lungs and silence from scared insects. James and Cecilia went on and about in search of their friend, but to no avail, yet they continued. Although, she couldn't help but have negative thoughts; maybe he got vaporized or something. "MAX!!" Cecilia cried at the top of her lungs, trying as she may prevent herself from breaking down into a heap of weeping rags. And James is no better, all he could do is search frantically around yelling; "MAXWELL!" As loud as his lungs could allow.

"I don't think he is anywhere around here," James said breathing heavily like he just ran a marathon, if truth be told, he actually just did.

"No," Cecilia gasped for breath, "no he can't be dead, he can't be dead." She said more to herself than to James. She looked to her right, a small crater had formed where the meteor had landed nearly an hour ago; she had been dreading the thought ever since, but she couldn't bring herself to voice her thoughts.

"You are not thinking what I am thinking, are you?" James said, looking at the crater himself. "I have been dreading this moment." He moved for the crater with Cecilia in tow, foot by foot they got closer, and it felt as though it is the most reckless thing he had ever done — he just cannot imagine a life without his best friend. On getting to the edge of the crater, the first thing he noticed is a young redhead man kneeling in a heap on the ground in the center of the crater, Max.

"Max!" Cecilia shrieked, racing past him so joyful and excited that he could almost see her relief. But he can't blame her, as James himself is running close behind Cecilia towards Max.

"How the hell is he not dead?" The question rang in his thoughts. Something isn't right, James could feel it on his skin that something is horribly wrong, and is right. As soon as Cecilia fall on Max intending to crush him in a hearty hug, a blast of invincible force pushed her off, so roughly she tumbled into James and they both soar ten meters away from Max who still seem oblivious of his surroundings, but only for a second as he suddenly shrieked in such agony one would think he fell into molten magma.

"What in the..."

"...world is that?" Cecilia finished James' exclamation in a well-practiced tone as they watched their friend radiate flamelike energy from his mouth and eyes and nostrils. The most distinguished is the ring that the pair are very sure isn't Max's kept glowing even after Max stopped. But the part that touched them is Max's shriek of agony — it doesn't take a genius to know that their lives are about to change forever.

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19:02

"That's it," James announced as they reached a taped-off area in Mpape hills. Max had insisted on going back to check out the landing site where all the voodoo hoodoo started the night before. I'm the truth, Max is more than afraid of what he will find, and he is definitely afraid of whatever it is he will now call normal.

"You were kneeling right in the middle of the crater," James said, pointing to the spot the meteor or whatever fell landed. Yes, they didn't find a meteor or a star; when James and Cecilia got to the crater the night before, the only thing they found in the crater was Max.

"You were kind of unconscious, so we had to drag you to the car," Cecilia said, feeling a bit guilty at the remembrance of the crude way she and James literally dragged him to the car.

"With a rope." James said, grinning mischievously at the memory; "and a grappling hook. Actually, it was a bit tricky to get you hooked up since we cou... Aw!" Cecilia jabbed his rib a bit hard, shutting the big-mouthed James.

"Okay okay chill," Max said, finally taking in the information. "So a ring fell off the sky and somehow found its way into my finger..."

"Like Green Lantern." James interrupted, and he got another jab in the rib from Cecilia, "aw!...okay, fine. Sorry." He said after liking at Cecilia's dead serious face. Well, this is a serious matter anyway; he thought.

"...and then I got all Star Trek." Max analyzed. "I think my next course of action is to do a CT scan."

"Probably, I might need it too," James said.

"Or maybe not," Cecilia interjected, "or else you guys want to have an appointment with a psychiatrist once a week for six months clad in aprons."

"You mean hospital gowns." James corrected.

"Yes, they are nothing more than aprons, dang it." James raised his hands in surrender, he knows how personally she takes the subject of hospital attire. "We just have to keep this to ourselves and try to figure it out," Cecilia said softly, laying a hand on Max's shoulder.

"Hey, look on the bright side," James said cheerfully, "now we have our own personal mystery to solve after all the probation. And besides, you've got yourself a super ring."

"Indeed, brother," Max said with a small smile. He subconsciously tapped the ring in his pocket; ", but please don't call it a super ring."